Friday, August 26, 2011

This is the disgusting dungeon where an Austrian man violated his own daughters in a nightmare spanning 15,000 days and nights.

'If you fight back, then I will kill you,' Gottfried W. told his children Christine, 53, and Erika, 45, who were forced to sleep at night on a wooden shelf while their father, now 80, snoozed in a feather bed.

Amid farming implements, old oil drums, wood, cement sacks and filth he violated his own flesh and blood with a depravity on a par with Josef Fritzl.

His wife Berta, 85, passed away in 2008. She too was a victim of the former council labourer's sadism, beaten like them with a stick and poked with a pitchfork.

Living hell: Room containing a commode, oil drums, cement sacks and fllth which the women abused for 41 years by their father had to endure

The girls became mentally ill over the years - not a condition they were born with, but a result of the torments they suffered at his hands.

Police say their mother, also beaten into submission, made them promise on her deathbed not to tell anyone about what their father did to them.

Other rooms in the sprawling house near Braunau-am-Inn - the birthplace of Adolf Hitler - were kept spic and span.

But the girls were forced to live in squalor, sleep in the kitchen and use a commode instead of the lavatory in the house.

Horror scene: The house in St. Peter am Hart, Brannau, Austria, where the two women were raped repeatedly by their father, who is now 80

Forty years of abuse ended in May this year when Gottfried tried to have his way with Christine one more time and she finally snapped.

She hit him with a milk jug on the head. He fell to the floor and cracked his head again.

For two days he was unable to move and police say they hoped he would die.

Finally the women, who were seen from time to time by a social worker - but who were so conditioned by his threats never to expose his vile treatment of them - called her in.

She telephoned for an ambulance for him and the women were taken into care. But still they said nothing.

It was only in June when they opened up to a Red Cross worker about what had happened to them.

It was this volunteer who called in the police.

Austria - still coming to terms with the kidnapping of schoolgirl Natascha Kampusch in the 90s and the Fritzl incest saga - is stunned at another terrible family crime being exposed within its borders.

Gottfried, known as Friedl to neighbours, was an archetypal Austrian father of the old school. He was stern, rigid, master of his house and keeper of the secrets that went inside it.

He controlled all social contact of his daughters with the outside world.

The only time they were seen out together was with him visiting the grave of their mother.

Gottfried has been moved to a prison in nearby Ried while the investigation against him continues; his daughters are undergoing psychiatric therapy in a clinic.

He faces charges of rape, unlawful imprisonment, cruelty, assault and making threats to kill. He was moved from an OAP home where he had been treated since his injuries in May to the jail on Thursday.

Diana Lamplugh

Diana Lamplugh, who died on August 18 aged 75, was the mother of Suzy Lamplugh, the young estate agent who went missing in 1986 and is presumed to have been murdered, though her body has never been found.

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Diana Lamplugh at her home in East Sheen, south-west LondonPhoto: CHRISTOPHER COX

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Diana Lamplugh with Suzy shortly before her disappearancePhoto: JULIAN ANDREWS

Her daughter’s agonising disappearance spurred Diana Lamplugh to become a tireless worker for the improvement of personal safety training and education. She set up the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and campaigned successfully for the licensing of minicabs; safer car parks, train and tube stations; and for stalking to be recognised as a criminal offence.

Suzy Lamplugh was 25 years old on July 28 1986 when she arranged to meet a man named “Mr Kipper” to show him around a house in Fulham. Later that night her car and purse were found nearby, but she was never seen again. A huge police investigation at the time, and two subsequent investigations, in 1998 and 2000, failed to discover what happened to her. Officers using radar equipment launched a fresh search for her remains as recently as last year, but no trace was found.

Despite this ordeal, Diana channelled her grief into positive action. She began with a nationwide campaign to improve personal safety for women at work and swiftly realised the need to address men’s safety too. Realising that children needed to learn at a young age how to manage aggression in themselves and in others, she established an ongoing education campaign in schools.

Above all she wanted to enable people to live their lives to the full, safely, and not have to hide behind locked doors.

Diana Elizabeth Howell was born on July 30 1936, the eldest of four children. Her father was a solicitor in Cheltenham, her mother a physical education teacher.

A spirited child who liked to challenge authority and ran away from home at four, she was sent to board at Westonbirt School, where she did not shine academically, partly due to undiagnosed dyslexia. She loved riding and was happiest galloping her pony across the sands at Newport in Pembrokeshire, where the Howells had lived since 1804 and where her family continue to holiday.

Her school reports described Diana’s academic prospects as “dim” and she was sent to typing school at 16. After working briefly as a secretary in Cheltenham she took off on an eight-month motorbike tour of England with the Carl Rosa Opera touring company. Opera was to remain one of her lifelong passions.

On returning she met her future husband, Paul Lamplugh, at a dance at Cheltenham College, where his father was a housemaster. After dancing he promised to buy her a car (a promise he fulfilled about 20 years later when he bought her an MG). It was the beginning of a very happy union . In Who’s Who she listed as one of her recreations “being alone with my husband” and their time together every evening, invariably over a vodka and lime, was sacrosanct. They married on October 18 1958 and settled in London, where Paul practised as a solicitor.

Diana Lamplugh worked as personal assistant to Kenneth Adam, BBC TV’s controller of programmes, and by 1962 had three children, all under three.

The Lamplughs lived near Richmond Park in south-west London, where Diana continued to ride. But she was itching to “do something more” and began training first as a volunteer for the Samaritans and then as a swimming teacher for the disabled and the elderly.

She then came up with an influential movement in health and fitness called “Slimnastics”, which advocated weight loss through a healthy lifestyle. At its peak in the early 1980s, it had 300 instructors in Britain. Diana Lamplugh and Pamela Nottidge, a fitness instructor, wrote pioneering guidebooks combining advice on healthy eating with exercise and stress management tips. These included A Guide to Good Living (1980) and The Whole Person Approach to Fitness (1984).

She was two days away from her 50th birthday when Suzy went missing. Determined to prevent similar tragedies, Diana Lamplugh organised a conference in London, chaired by Libby Purves, to explore what could be done. This meeting evolved into the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, where her daughter Tamsin continues to work as a volunteer.

Diana Lamplugh, who was appointed OBE in 1992, loved to swim, particularly in the sea in Wales. Her other loves were mackerel fishing and hosting barbecues for the 20 or 30 guests she put up at her family holiday home, Ondara, every summer.

She also loved ice cream. In recent years, after her health began to fail, her husband took her every day to the Coach House Café in Marble Hill Park, Twickenham, for vanilla ice cream. When the café was threatened with closure in 2004 he persuaded English Heritage to keep it open, running it himself with a local woman as a non-profit service for the community.

Diana Lamplugh is survived by her husband and their son and two daughters.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Latest News

CCTV released of missing Alan Spray

Police are releasing CCTV footage of missing Alan Spray as part of continuing efforts to trace him.

The CCTV footage is taken from the Total garage on Verulam Road in St Albans at around 8.10pm on Saturday, July 30. This is the last confirmed sighting of him.

Alan is described as white, approximately 5ft 9ins tall, is balding on top with grey hair to the side and wears light reactive glasses. He was described as wearing a brown and blue checked short sleeve shirt and brown/grey trousers. He may be carrying a book.

Detective Inspector Simon Warwick said: “It is now over a week since Alan was last seen and whilst we remain hopeful he will be found safe and well, understandably concerns for his welfare are increasing.

“We have received overwhelming support from the media and members of the public and I would like to thank everyone for their assistance. I am hoping this CCTV may jog people’s memories further and would ask anyone who was in the area at the time who hasn’t been in contact with police to call if they have any information.”

Officers would ask anyone who has seen Alan to contact the police immediately via the non-emergency number 101.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Diana Lamplugh OBE died peacefully in her sleep this morning after suffering a second massive stroke. This followed the first stroke in 2003 and a nine year battle with Alzheimer’s.

After the disappearance of her daughter, Suzy, in 1986, Diana and her husband, Paul, founded Suzy Lamplugh Trust and for over sixteen years she was the powerhouse behind this well-known national charity for personal safety. She received her OBE in 1992.

Paul Infield, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said:

“Diana was one of those people who contributed energy, focus and commitment to everything she did. With her husband, Paul, she was tireless in establishing, through the Trust, the concept of and discipline for personal safety – now a household expression – as a positive life skill for people of all ages and occupations. All responsible organisations now have a personal safety policy.

“Her message is as relevant today as when she started campaigning following Suzy’s disappearance. Whilst she will be sorely missed, the trustees and staff of the Trust are determined that our work will continue to fulfil Diana’s vision of improving people’s personal safety by giving them the knowledge and skills to enable them to live life to the full – avoiding aggression and violence.”

A charismatic speaker and tireless campaigner, Diana led the Trust in successfully campaigning for changes in law and procedures regarding safer working practices; safe travel in minicabs; safer travel on trains and safer stations; safer car parks; the treatment and sentencing of sex offenders; helping vulnerable young people and victims of crime; protection from stalking and harassment, treatment of young offenders and many others. She received for her work Honorary Doctorates from four Universities.

It is a credit to the groundwork she laid during the early years that the Trust – which celebrates its 25 Anniversary this year – continues to be a well- respected and active charity, continuing and expanding the work that Diana started.

In 1999, Libby Purves wrote this of Diana’s legacy:

“….the Trust is a national asset, its influence nationwide, its renown and awards international…..the work of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust has made us feel less, not more, afraid.”

Diana will be sorely missed by her husband Paul, her children Richard, Tamsin and Lizzie, her seven grandchildren, as well as the rest of her family and friends.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Zarina is 5' 5" slim build, of Asian appearance, with dark brown/black hair. She was last seen wearing a black satin bomber jacket blue jeans and blue gladiator style strappy sandals. It is not known what Karina was wearing when she went missing.

In a direct appeal to Zarina, DCI Matt Bonner of Brent Police said: "We are getting increasingly concerned for the welfare of you both and I would urge you to make contact with us. It is really important that we know you are safe."

Appealing to the wider public, he said: "Anyone who may have seen Zarina and her daughter or has any information as to where they may currently be is urged to contact police as quickly as possible. It is likely that Zarina has sought hotel or bed and breakfast type accommodation since she went missing and she may well have had to go shopping today for provisions for baby Karina. If anyone has seen them I would urge them to contact us."

Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Zarina and Karina is asked to call Brent Police on 0791 759 5204 or 0208 733 3749

detained an American for questioning in the case, according to Aruba authorities and a missing persons organization.

Robyn Gardner (Courtesy of Richard Forester) Robyn Gardner, 35, was last seen a week ago, Aug. 2, at the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino in Oranjestad, Aruba, according to the Natalee Holloway Resource Center, an organization that grew out of the Holloway case, also in Aruba. On Friday, four days after Gardner was reported missing, authorities there detained another tourist at the airport, said Ann Angela, a spokesperson for the Aruba’s public prosecutor’s office...read more

According to a recent report from Radar it looks as if the cops investigating the mysterious death of Rebecca Zahau, formerly Rebecca Nalepa, the girlfriend of Medicis Pharmaceuticals CEO Jonah Shacknai, may be backing away from their original Rebecca Zahau may have committed suicide meme. The bizarre suicide meme was pushed by both the Coronado Police Department and the San Diego Sheriff’s Department immediately after all records into the investigations of the deaths of Rebecca Zahau and Max Shacknai, 6, the son of Jonah, were sealed.

[Photo: News helicopter crews were allowed to film Rebecca Zahau's body hours after the 911 call on July 13, 2011]

While the records were sealed there still remains the horrific manner the authorities handled Rebecca’s body and what could be a crime scene after the original 911 call made by Jonah Shacknai’s brother Adam Shacknai. According to news reports Adam Shacknai had flown to Coronado after Max’s accident. At the time of Rebecca’s ‘suspicious’ death Adam was a resident of the mansion’s guest house who allegedly cut down Rebecca’s nude body hanging from a balcony of the historic Spreckels Mansion currently owned by Jonah Shacknai. Authorities allowed Rebecca’s nude body to lay in an open courtyard for ‘most of the day’, her body videotaped by local helicopter news crews. The image of Rebecca’s nude and bound body broadcast to the public. After Rebecca’s body was on display for most of the day the authorities then sealed all the records to the investigations of Rebecca and Max’s deaths. Radar’s latest report:

The respective investigations into the mysterious deaths of multi-millionaire Jonah Shacknai’s son, Max, and girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, are expected to be complete in the next several weeks, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.Jonah’s 6-year-old son, Max, was found at the base of the stairs of his Coronado, CA. mansion, unresponsive and unconscious. Two days later, Shacknai’s girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, 32, was found hanging outside the same home, naked, with her hands bound to her ankles behind her back.Law enforcement sources tell RadarOnline.com: “It doesn’t look like Rebecca’s death was by suicide. The evidence we have gathered so far, points us in the direction of this being a very, very suspicious death.”

‘Her hands bound to ankles behind her back’ a different version than other news reports which included Rebecca’s hands bound behind her back and her feet bound together, the binding around her hands had been cut loose after Adam Shacknai discovered her body hanging from the balcony, and, Rebecca Zahau’s hands were still bound but the binding around her feet were ‘undone’. Another meme pushed by the cops, the death of Rebecca Zahau death was not related to Max Shacknai’s accident. Max, who was grievously injured at the mansion–allegedly a fall down the stairs–two days before Rebecca’s body was discovered hanging from a balcony, was taken off life support several days after Rebecca’s death. Rebecca was purportedly taking care of Max when he allegedly accidentally fell down a staircase. From Rebecca Zahau Death: Authorities Seal Records, Push Suicide Meme:

And yet there’s the rather curious report from the Coronado Patch of a conversation Rebecca had with a kennel owner the day before her death:

Ted Greenberg was one of the last people to see Rebecca Nalepa (Zahau) alive.She had called his kennel, Camp Diggity Dogs, to pick up Ocean, the family’s 14-month-old Weimaraner the afternoon following the Monday accident that left her boyfriend’s son with serious injuries.“She asked us to come get the dog, because she wanted to get to the hospital to see her child,” Greenberg said. “I understand it’s (her boyfriend’s) son, but I guess she thought of him as hers.”“She called about 4:40 pm,” he said. “She told me about the accident and said that her daughter was also injured.”

There’s no info Rebecca Zahau had a daughter. According to the kennel owner Rebecca referred to Max as ‘her son’. Was Rebecca referring to Jonah Shacknai’s daughter who was purportedly staying with Jonah and Rebecca during the summer at the Spreckels Mansion?

Radar’s report reveals that while sources claim Rebecca’s death may not have been a suicide and was ‘very very suspicious’ there wasn’t any mention of any suspects or mention of ‘homicide” or ‘murder’. You have to wonder if the cops will continue to keep all records sealed if Rebecca’s death is deemed ‘suspicious’?

Meanwhile, investigators are purportedly checking out the knots used in Rebecca’s death. Rumors are orange electrical cord was used. Another rumor, neighbors purportedly heard loud music coming from the mansion the night before Rebecca’s body was found early the next morning. Down the street, the location of Dina Stacknai’s home. Dina Stacknai, the estranged wife of Jonah Stacknai, mother of 6-yr-old Max.

In other news, shortly after Rebecca and Max’s deaths Jonah Shacknai hired a high profile PR firm. The news Shacknai attended Rebecca’s funeral held in Missouri. On August 8, Jonah Shacknai, during a conference call, ‘spoke about the deaths’ of Rebecca and Max, kinda sorta.

“At a time like this, you do a lot of introspective thinking,” said Shacknai on the call. “We’ve obviously had an extraordinarily difficult time. We have undertaken tragedies and losses that one couldn’t imagine in a lifetime.”

Jonah Shacknai is CEO of Medicis, a pharmaceutical company that produces cosmetic pharmaceuticals such as Restylane. He’s got a lot of money. The 27-room mansion he lives in in Coronado, California was purchased by him several years back for almost … Continue reading →

Virginia Tech, where Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people in 2007 before turnign the gun on himself. Photograph: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images

Virginia Tech, the site of the 2007 mass shooting that killed 33 people, is in lockdown after reports of a man armed with a handgun on campus.

The university issued an alert on its website at 9.37am telling students and employees to stay inside and secure doors.

The alert said the gunman was reported near Dietrick Hall, a three-storey refectory building yards from the dorm where the first shootings took place in the 2007 attack by Seung-Hui Cho.

Virgina Tech said that at 9.09am three young people attending a camp at the university reported seeing a white man with "what may have been a handgun".

The man was described as 6ft, with light brown hair, a blue and white vertically striped shirt, grey shorts and brown sandals. The report said he had no facial hair or glasses. The reported weapon was covered by a cloth or covering of some sort.

The man was reported near New Residence Hall East, walking quickly in the direction of volleyball courts. Staff and agencies responded immediately to the area but found no-one matching the description.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The forums are buzzing with the mystery surrounding the death of Max and Rebecca Zahau...This posted on a public forum by Anon.

TORIES CITY LIGHTS NEWS | CORONADO

The Hanging Question of Coronado
By Bill Manson | Published Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The death of Rebecca Zahau has Coronado buzzing.

Rarely has Coronado been so abuzz. In the early morning of July 13, a young naked woman hanged herself (or did she?) at the Spreckels mansion on Ocean Boulevard. Two days before, a six-year-old boy fell down the house’s grand staircase (or did he?) and was put in a coma from which he never recovered.

Sensational mystery deaths are a rare thing on the isle. The last great murder-or-was-it-suicide drama took place in 1892, when Kate Morgan died of a self-inflicted (or was it?) gunshot wound to the head at the Hotel Del.

Reaching Jonah Shacknai, the wealthy CEO father of Max and lover of Rebecca Zahau (she had dropped Nalepa, the surname of her ex-husband), will not be easy. He has turned over management of his media relations to Citrick and Company, a PR/crisis management firm.

So, meantime, I went around seeking not the truth, but the buzz. These are transcripts with, in most cases, changed names. The opinions and theories are all over the place because there is so little information.

* * *

KELLY and JAN are bank employees. It’s Friday night. They’re closing up. ALICE is their friend and last customer.

KELLY: It’s horrible. Just horrible. The first couple of days, every customer was saying, “What do you think?”

Also, if I was in a horrible frame of mind because my boy, my son, had just died, and I felt it was my fault that he fell down the stairs, why would I get naked?

ALICE: I have a friend, and he’s a world-renowned forensic psychologist. And he says that women never, ever commit suicide in the nude. Only if you’re in a bathtub and you slit your wrists.

KELLY: I think it’s interesting that the brother [Jonah Shacknai’s brother Adam] cut her down. Why, unless he thought she was still alive? I think the brother did it.

ALICE: I think it’s the husband.

JAN: I said the same thing.

KELLY: Because she let the little boy die.

ALICE: I met him before, though.

KELLY: What!? I hear they worked out at the gym I work out at, but I don’t remember seeing him.

ALICE: I actually met him at the [Coronado city] council meeting. Because...when he came to Coronado, he wanted the Mills Act [which provides tax relief for historic homes, but also restricts what alterations you can make]. Then after he got the Mills Act, he wanted to change that whole wing on the house. And they denied him. He’s one of those...he’s got the greed syndrome. Not trustworthy. That’s what I thought at the meeting. Manipulative. This is a man who gets what he wants.

KELLY: He’s so powerful, everybody around him are yes-man people. And [if] his girlfriend let his little boy die on her watch, well, you know what?

ALICE: And all that injections and stuff, it’s got to poison your head. All that Restylane and the Botox.

He injected himself?

ALICE: Well, that’s what business he’s in.

KELLY: I think the brother did it for the husband. And the reason he cut her down... Because I thought the reason he cut her down was “I tried to revive her” but maybe to explain why his DNA is on her.

ALICE: No. You don’t see someone hanging without calling 911.

KELLY: First. And then you tell 911, “She’s hanging, and I’m going to cut her down,” and they’re going to say, “Don’t touch her.”

KELLY: I wondered if he was playing with the dog, and that’s why she called the [dog-care] people. She said, “I can’t keep the dog because of what happened to the little boy.” So, I was wondering, did he trip over the dog?

ALICE: Six-year-olds climb on everything. Just like being at the park.

KELLY: So, you think it was really and truly an accident? Because you know what everybody was saying? That the chandelier fell on him. That’s what everybody in town was saying. And then the next day it was, “No, he fell down the stairs.” The story keeps changing.

* * *

GEOFF, contractor and ex–Navy SEAL. We’re in a hardware shop.

My theory? It’s a double murder, with the arrow pointed towards the boyfriend/father. The father has got an enemy. And the enemy went after somebody dear to him. He took both of them. [Killing the child] is what hurts him more than killing him himself.

The two are connected. But the Coronado police would like it to go away. Because they don’t want to tarnish the reputation of their golden city. They would like to think the first one [the son] is an accident, the second was suicide. But that’s not the case. They’re connected.

It might have something to do with his girlfriend’s ex-husband, too.

It has also crossed my mind that the mother has an axe to grind with the girlfriend. And if there was an accident where the boy fell down the steps or if the girlfriend actually hurt him, might the mother put a hit on the girl? There’s something there.

You’re serious?

They’re very influential people. They know people. They know people around the world. They can do these things.

The boy fell?

He might have been purposely dropped from a high altitude. On his neck or head. “Fell down the steps” is an old excuse. They use that one a lot.

Why hang her?

Make it look like it was a motive by the ex-wife, who lives in Coronado. Make it look like that.

A drug thing?

Could be. It could be he made somebody very angry. He knows what’s happened. But you or I or the police will never get to him. He’s got too much money. The lawyers will protect him.

Was it right to let Jonah Shacknai leave the state?

What are they going to do? They can’t arrest unless they have evidence. And letting him go back to Arizona? Give him a long leash. Doesn’t mean they’re not watching him.

The Coronado police?

They shouldn’t be involved. They don’t have the intel to do that. And they don’t have the intellect. No, these are traffic cops. They shouldn’t be investigating a missing dog. They should turn it over to the sheriff. Seriously. This police department can’t even find a missing bicycle in town.

So, not the greatest admirer?

Oh, I think it’s the greatest police force in the world. They know the traffic code.

If it’s so clear to you, why are the cops still talking “accident/suicide”?

They know a lot. But to us, they say, “We’re looking at a suicide and an accident. We don’t think they’re connected.” They don’t want the tourists to think that Coronado’s tarnished. The Golden City. Playing it down, just like the mayor of Amity Island in Jaws.

If I was in charge, I would probably put out some leads to the underground world. They would find out for me.

I think he’s a person who has pissed off somebody. And that’s what they did. They took the dearest thing to him. The dearest thing is the little boy. Now he’s going to suffer because of it. A cute little guy, too.

* * *

KELLEN, works at Bay Books.

I’ve lived in Coronado for about seven years now. I never heard of anything like this. This is serious. I think there’s been one other murder since I’ve been here. Not much crime. But I don’t think that we should be worried or threatened by it. Because it seemed to be a personal thing. I don’t think it was a murderer on the rampage. I think someone knew her. I guess he has a history of domestic violence. I don’t know how they’re going to be able to live here anymore. If they’re innocent.

Who did it? The only person you can think of is the guy. But why would he do that? Because he’s so successful and why would he want to threaten his success? Because he’s obviously going to be pointed at.

* * *

BOB, landscape architect/gardener, ex-military.

I only get the news from the stock market. The story there is that he made a lot of money transfers a week before the [deaths].... Stocks went down as soon as it happened. Now the stocks are going back up again. He’s moved a lot of money out and sold a lot of shares.

But it could be a suicide. People can tie their hands in front and then step over it, if you have enough agility. Tie your feet first, then put a long rope and tie it around your neck, and tie it to the railing, and then the last straw is to tie your hands, and then put your feet over, one at a time. Not everybody has that dexterity. But she certainly looked like she could. That’s a possibility. But the reason I find that doubtful is that most women are vain enough that they would not commit suicide in the nude. They’d be wearing good makeup, good jewelry.

* * *

Desi Ochoa, trainer at ...
DESI OCHOA, a trainer at Hollywood Fitness, a gym near the Hotel Del, where they say Coronado’s smart set goes to muscle up. Jonah and Rebecca were regulars.

Rebecca came here and would do the step mill, the elliptical, and she probably did some of the weights. Yes, she was actually in the gym with her boyfriend on that last Friday, the 8th. He seemed a little standoffish. I got a weird vibe from him.

She seemed like she was very nice. Laid back, down to earth. And she worked out a lot, so she was in pretty good shape. I kind of got a vibe from him that he’s rich, don’t try to be too friendly. So, I never really got to talk with them. She’s only been with the gym for a year. He was in good shape; not ripped, but not bad, either.

Who did it? I think, with the brother living in the house, maybe she was messing around with his brother, and that set things going. The kid falling down the stairs? Don’t know. But here’s the thing: one of our trainers saw Jonah here two days after it happened, after Rebecca died. He was here at the gym by himself.

* * *

CAROL LEBEAU, Channel Ten’s retired anchor, is standing in line at Rite Aid.

I know a little about suicide. My mother killed herself when I was 26 and she was 54. She had untreated, end-stage depression when it wasn’t talked about. We have depression that runs in our family. But, let me tell you, nobody — nobody, especially a woman — is going to commit suicide by stripping naked and binding hands and feet and hanging themselves.

* * *

Brant Sarber outside his ...
BRANT SARBER, owner, Costa Azul restaurant. I meet him on Orange Avenue. We sit down at the 901 bus stop bench.

The two of them looked so familiar in photographs that I think they’ve been in to Costa Azul, as a couple.

In all the scandal-mongering, people forget how tragic it is to lose a son. That’s just a tragedy, and the boy sounded like a great little kid, from what I’ve read. I mean, that’s two terrible things, and...wait a bit, this is happening here in Coronado?

And reaction? Oh, my goodness! Customers are coming in here from everywhere. Like from Boston. They’re going, “Oh, my God! How about the murder! What do you know about the murder?” Nobody’s ever asked me that question before.

What an interesting event for our sleepy little town.

* * *

ALEX is sitting with his wife Lydia at the Café Madrid on Orange Avenue. He has been in Special Forces and is now in business.

Who did it? It must have been the butler [kidding]. Or someone who has a vendetta against the owner. Because the girl couldn’t have tied herself up to commit suicide. I think somebody else perpetrated the deed. A professional.

I know how those things work. They just accomplish the mission, nobody sees them, and then they’re gone. That’s the main thing, is no witnesses. It’s done in under two minutes. It’s called “force of action.” Compress the most violence into the smallest time. Accomplish it with explosive force. Smash through the windows, out the door.... They could have broken her neck before they threw her off. It’s easy to break a person’s neck. It only takes about 14 pounds of pressure.

* * *

CHARLIE S., who collects cans and bottles around Coronado every day.

I collected bottles two doors away from the Spreckels house that morning. Nothing unusual. No cries, no people rushing around.

* * *

PETE, an artist.

Where was she from, Burma? Could someone in Burma have disapproved of her lifestyle? Getting tied up with this lifestyle here and moving in with a foreigner, an American...that’s a possibility. They could have sent people over to...uh, express that disapproval in dramatic fashion.

* * *

ALEX: But this guy [Shacknai] has the right idea. Put up a wall of lawyers between him and his tormentors. I have a lawyer friend, ex–Special Forces. And on his [business] card, he has: “Nobody talks, everyone walks.” Truer words were never spoken.

* * *

TOM, an accountant.

What I heard was that there were two women, one of them naked and bound up. And it was another female who made the 911 call. And when the paramedics arrived, she also was half naked. That’s what the police said, according to a friend of mine. She emailed me the day it happened and said that 911 had been called, and when they arrived, the naked girl was still alive, and the person who made the call was also Asian. So, two Asian females.

I’m not surprised. If the boyfriend is an alpha type — I deal with alpha-type businessmen at tax time — they’re domineering, they’re pushy. They surround themselves with people who do things for them, and they’re used to getting their way. People wait on him hand and foot, and naturally that sort of trait would carry over to the bedroom. Luckily, most of us just can’t perform to that level.

So, with these people, if you take away the constraints, you take away the social norms, some people think they can get away with, well, murder. These guys take chances. I call it the fighter-pilot mentality, the swashbuckler. The Navy SEALs push things to the extreme, too. They also do it with their spouses. The same sort of thing that makes them thrive in Afghanistan, surrounded by 100 Taliban, is the same mentality they use to deal with their spouse. They don’t recognize the same social controls as you and me.

I don’t have a clue what happened in this case, but I’m guessing they were playing a [sex] game and it got out of hand.

I used to come over to the Spreckels house when I was 20, 21. I remember my friend’s mother had a huge collection of snuff bottles. It was a very formal house. Everything had to be just so. There were butlers, cooks. You couldn’t imagine anything unplanned, untraditional ever happening there. I thought it was so-o stuffy. Now, I wonder if that wasn’t a good thing.

* * *

Not too happy in Coronado with Jonah Shacknai...

Spreckels mansion: the site ...
The lawn in front of Spreckels mansion shines luminous green in the setting sun.

“People come and leave flowers and messages,” says the Elite Security lady, who’s keeping looky-loos at bay. Right now, in the early evening, she’s rearranging the flowers in the pot that someone has set up on the front lawn facing the Pacific Ocean. “It’s a tragedy, all right,” she says.

One little bunch of flowers had no name, but it was clearly addressed to Rebecca.

“It is the way you listened, the way you comforted, the way you related to my every heartache, my every victory, even my losses, you were a true friend.” ■

CORONADO, Calif. - Police logs obtained by 10News on Monday show that Coronado officers responded to Jonah Shacknai's home, the Spreckels mansion, and the nearby home of his ex-wife more than a dozen times in the last three years.

Shacknai's son, 6-year-old Max, suffered a fatal fall down the grand staircase of the mansion about two weeks ago. Coronado police have ruled the boy's death a tragic accident.

Two days after Max's fall, Shacknai's girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, was found hanging naked from a courtyard balcony of the same home. Investigators still cannot say if her death was a homicide or suicide.

Arizona police records detailed instances of domestic violence between Shacknai and his ex-wife Dina. They are now divorced but both have homes within blocks of one another on Coronado. Based on their stormy past, 10News filed an open records request for police calls to their homes.

10News found that officers were called to Shacknai's home at least eight times between July 2008 and July 2011 for things such as burglary and vandalism. During those same three years, police showed up to Dina's home five times for noise disturbances, alarms and a suspicious vehicle.

RadarOnline reported that Shacknai attended his girlfriend's funeral on Saturday. He has not said a word about her death publicly.

Zahau's sister Mary Zahau-Loehner released a statement on Monday, which said in part, "Rebecca valued her life and lived her life to its fullest. There are no words in any dictionary or language to describe the full beauty, love, compassion, selflessness, generosity, and kindness of Rebecca."

The sheriff's department confirmed to 10News it will not re-create Zahau's death. Detectives will instead rely on forensic evidence.

Jonah Shacknai's girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, was buried on Sunday, and the millionaire was at the funeral, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

Rebecca was found dead at Jonah's Coronado, Calif. mansion, on July 13, just two days after Shacknai's son, Max, was found at the base of the stairs inside the estate, unresponsive.

Max was taken off of life support on July 18th, and his parents, Jonah and ex-wife Dina, made the brave decision to donate their son's organs. Dina Shacknai lives very close to her ex-husband's mansion.

San Diego County Sheriff spokesman Tim Curran, tells RadarOnline.com, "Ms. Zahau's hands were bound behind her back, and her feet were bound together," when she was found hanging from an outdoor balcony at Jonah's house. Jonah's brother, Adam, found Rebecca around 6 am on July 13 and cut her down, hoping to revive her, but it was too late.

“The investigation is still ongoing. Rebecca's toxicology report, and autopsy result are still pending. Cops are also looking very closely at the knots that were used in the chords that Rebecca was bound with,” another law enforcement source says.

Jonah Shacknai "has been extremely cooperative with cops. He wants to get to the bottom of this as much as anyone. Jonah has lost his son and girlfriend. Rebecca's family welcomed Jonah at the funeral," a source close to the situation tells.

Something of great interest a blogger called ANON has picked up on on another forum. I am placing it here as thoughts are this may end up as a cover-up.

A critical clue in this investigation is the fact that the dogs were checked into doggy care the eve of her murder.

Why , one has to ask?

Were they going out of town?

Dogs can certainly be left alone for a few hours while one visits at the hosptipal.

Was she instructed to check these dogs? One may never know since she is not here to answer that question.

What is fact is that in the presence of violence dogs will either a. bark like hell drawing much unwanted attention., or 2. if they are trained, will attack on master's command or to protect the master if the victim should fight back. Bite marks on the victim, especially in light of the former wives documented allegations and photographs, will point the finger at you know who. Thus a top-notch PR firm .

She may have been instructed , without making a big deal out of it, to check these dogs.

She may have not made a big deal out of it either , so wouldn't have mentioned it to anyone.

Why would she? Might sound logical to her at the moment, or just doing what was asked. Phone records, particluarly cell phone which records are eternal, should establish someting to do with this critical moment in the hours leading up to her death.

How or why that child fell causing him those injuries leading to his death are only known by her, the child, and evidently one other 13 yr old - so the press suggests.

Who was the 13 yr old? Another key to uncovering this crime.

I have my doubts this post will make it to xxxxxxxx. Too bad. This situation in Coronado surrounding a pharma exec may be just the events in pharmaceutical history to make or break the going concern of your site.

You know, a test of your intestinal fortitude to stand up and defend your site for what is what intended for... The ACLU will back you. Don't be such chickens. Nothing typewritten herein could implicate you for anything. I'll copy and paste same quote on one of the news sites where they take risks and are a little more seasoned in the area of free speech. END QUOTE...

The San Diego Sheriff's Department wants to review surveillance video from the hospital where Jonah Shacknai's son, Max, was treated after he was found at the base of the stairs at his father's Coronado mansion, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

Two days after Max's tragic accident, Jonah's girlfriend, Rebecca Zahou, was found hanging from a balcony at the estate. Jonah's brother, Adam, found Rebecca's nude body hanging, with her ankles and wrists bound together, and cut her down in hopes of saving her, but it was too late.

Max Shacknai, 6, was taken to Rady Children's Hospital, and law enforcement wants to review surveillance video from the hospital to establish a timeline in the hours leading up to Rebecca's mysterious death.

"The San Diego Sheriff's Department will be obtaining a search warrant to review the footage. Investigators want to confirm details of what Jonah, Adam, and Dina [Jonah's second wife, and Max's mother], have revealed to them. Jonah maintains that he was at the hospital when Rebecca's body was found. This is a very fluid investigation," a law enforcement source tells us.

Autopsies have been performed on Max and Rebecca Zahou, and Max's funeral was on Wednesday.

SAN DIEGO -- While the two deaths at a Coronado mansion are still under investigation, the mansion's homeowner, Jonah Shacknai, has hired a high-profile public relations agency.

10News learned Shacknai hired Sitrick and Company – a powerful public relations firm out of Los Angeles – the day after his son died.

Shacknai's son, 6-year-old Max, suffered a now fatal fall down the grand staircase of his father's mansion more than a week ago. Coronado police have ruled the boy's death a tragic accident.

Last Wednesday, Shacknai's girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, was found hanging naked from a courtyard balcony of the same home. Investigators still cannot say if her death was a homicide or suicide.

The firm hired by Shacknai is the best PR firm money can buy, with a client list 13 pages long and the founder considered the king of spin.

The firms' clients included Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton and Major League Baseball.

10News wanted to know why Shacknai hired the agency. A Sitrick executive told 10News Shacknai is getting hundreds of calls and wanted to be able to grieve and take care of two funeral services. All other questions were rebuffed.

"I think they have major feelings about protecting their own interests," said retired San Diego police detective Rick Carlson.

Carlson spent 35 years with the San Diego Police Department and saw his share of suicides. Carlson even wrote a book about them.

10News asked Carlson asked him about Zahau's bizarre death.

"It certainly appears that somebody wanted to send a message," he said.

"Whether it was the victim's anger or if it was a homicide… there appears to be a lot of anger there," he said.

Carlson believes suicide is possible but not probable.

"The average person would not want them to find them like that," he said. "They tend to, in my experience, look for a place to hide."

The Medical Examiner will not release Zahau's cause of death until further tests are back.

As for suicide, Zahau's family is not buying it.

Her sister told RadarOnline, "There is no way my sister committed suicide. I spoke to her just before the incident and she was fine. She was the type of person who was full of life."

Jonah Shacknai, the CEO of Medics Pharmaceutical Corporation, was planning to propose to his girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, who was found dead at his Coronado, Calif. mansion, just days after his son Max, suffered a fatal fall at the historical estate, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

Zahau was found on July 13, by Jonah's brother, Adam, hanging naked from a balcony, with her hands and feet bound together.

Jonah's son, six-year-old Max, had fallen down the stairs just two days earlier and according to sources, was being watched at the time by Rebecca. Max subsequently died in hospital.

Shacknai had been dating the Burmese beauty for two years. "It was a very serious relationship. There was a lot of love there. Jonah had every intention of proposing to Rebecca. Jonah wanted to spend the rest of his life with her," a source close to the former couple tells RadarOnline.com.

San Diego Sheriff's Department has ruled Rebecca's death as "very suspicious."

Jonah wasn't home at the time his girlfriend's body was discovered, he was at his son Max's bedside, keeping vigil. Law enforcement is also investigating Max’s death, but: "At this time, we have no information that would lead us to believe this is anything other than a tragic accident with the child," Coronado Police Chief Louis Scanlon said last Thursday.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Jonah, and his ex-wife, Dina Shacknai, made the brave decision to donate their son's organs, which ultimately saved three different children's lives.

"Jonah and Dina didn't want another family to go through the horrible loss they are dealing with, so they decided to donate Max's organs. They are absolutely devastated by Max's death. There simply are no words," the family insider told RadarOnline.com.

Meanwhile, Jonah Shacknai is "in seclusion, and is absolutely unconsolable. Dealing with the loss of his only child and his girlfriend, it's just an epic tragedy," the insider tells us.

On Sept. 13, 2008, Jonah Shacknai reported to police that Dina attempted to choke her and that his attack-trained female German Shepherd became excited and came between the two. He blamed his wife’s behavior on prescription medications and alcohol, according to a supplemental report.

Dina called the same night, reporting a dog attack. On the following day, she told police the dog had injured her before while Jonah “makes little to no effort to stop the dog,” according to a report.

Dina also submitted a two-page letter, describing Jonah as temperamental. She said the incident began over a disagreement with their child’s soiled bedding and that Jonah cursed at her in front of their child.

He “physically intimidated” her, she wrote, by “coming very close to (her), ‘nose to nose,’” and continuing to insult and threaten" her with name-calling in a “menacing tone.” She added that her attempts to keep an arm’s distance from Jonah during the incident resulted in her hand moving from his chest to his throat.

“Although Jonah feels entitled to name call, push etc, when I attempt to set boundaries via my personal space, he then assumes the role of victim,” Dina wrote.

The married couple was estranged by Jan. 4, 2009, when a second incident was reported to police. Dina alleged Jonah elbowed her in the right breast area.

Weeks later, in a formal letter to Chief John Bennett of the Paradise Valley Police Department dated Jan. 26, Jonah wrote Dina previously filed “false and misleading reports” about bruises on her body stemming from contact with their dog.

“Importantly,” Shacknai wrote, "Dina has been treated medically for years for a bruising disorder, whereby the slightest contact with an object or other material causes bruises. This information can certainly be verified medically.”

Shacknai, the prominent founder and CEO of Medicis, a pharmaceutical company based in Scottsdale, Ariz., wrote that although never feeling physically endangered, Dina physically assaulted him several times, once causing him a broken finger.He wrote that Dina threw herself at his car on Jan. 4 while he was attempting to drive away from the home. She screamed that he had no right to leave her or the house, Jonah wrote.

“At this point, Dina also began attempting to slap me, again screaming, “You cannot leave me!” Jonah wrote. “I was able to gently nudge her from the car and withdraw from the premises without further incident.”

Newly released police reports from Arizona document allegations of a volatile relationship between Jonah Shacknai and his second ex-wife.

The records detail three incidents at the pharmaceutical tycoon's Arizona residence between 2007 and 2009. In one case, Shacknai claimed his wife had been drinking and taking prescription drugs before trying to choke him in September 2008.

The woman told police she was attacked by Shacknai's German shepherd during several arguments inside their Paradise Valley home, and turned over photos of past injuries allegedly inflicted by the dog as early as 2006. In the reports, she claims Shacknai was "not quick to pull the dog away."

In a prepared written statement to police, she said, "I feel scared of what he is capable of doing to me physically via the dog as well as the lengths he will go to try to destroy me in any way he was able to do so."

In 2009, the woman claimed Shacknai had elbowed her in the chest before driving off following an argument. Shacknai characterized the incident as a "nudge." The documents show no arrests were made and no criminal charges ever filed.

In a letter to police, Shacknai wrote, "I have been assaulted physically several times by my wife... In one instance, I was treated for a broken finger as a consequence of one such assault."

An Arizona police agency has revealed documents showing Jonah Shacknai and his ex-wife, Dina Romano, have a history of domestic violence.

On Sept. 13, 2008, Jonah Shacknai reported to police that his wife had tried to choke him. During the incident, the family's German shepherd dog became excited and Dina was bitten. When police interviewed Dina, she told police there had been other similar incidents. Neither asked police to take action against the other, however.

Another Paradise Valley police report dated Jan. 4, 2009, resulted from a call to police by Dina. She reported that Jonah and she had quarreled. As Jonah began to drive away, she alleged, he elbowed her in the chest as she tried to lean in the car window. Jonah denied hurting his wife and alleged that she had attacked him physically.

"I was treated for a broken finger as a consequence of one such assault," Jonah Shacknai wrote in a letter to Paradise Valley Police Chief John Bennett.

In a report from the Paradise Valley police department in 2009, Romero claimed Shacknai elbowed her in the right breast and cursed at her as he tried to drive away from the house after a domestic violence incident. In the same report Shacknai says Romano wouldn't allow him to leave and that she jumped on the front of the car, then slapped him around the face and shoulders.

Jonah Shacknai, founder and CEO of Scottsdale-based Medicis Pharmaceuticals Corp., on Sunday announced that his 6-year-old son, Max, has died of injuries he sustained in a fall inside the family home last week.

"With great sadness, Dina (Shacknai's ex-wife and the boy's mother) and I convey the tragic passing of our beloved son, Max," said Shacknai, in a statement released to the media.

"Despite heroic efforts on the part of paramedics and hospital staff, he was unable to recover from the injuries suffered early last week."

Television stations in San Diego and Phoenix began reporting Friday night that Max Shacknai, known as Maxie to his family, had died of brain injuries. Other television stations reported that the boy was brain dead and on life support.

The family released its public statement late Sunday afternoon.

"His loving, kind and vibrant spirit will forever be in our hearts and those whom he touched every day. The loss to our families, Max's many friends of all ages and teammates, and the community is immeasurable," said Shacknai.

The family asked for privacy to grieve their loss.

Shacknai said contributions his son should be made to the Whispering Hope Ranch Foundation, 9045 E. Pima Center Parkway, Scottsdale, or via website at www.whisperinghoperanch.org.

On Wednesday, two days after the boy was hospitalized, police and emergency crews responding to a 911 call found Shacknai's girlfriend dead. She reportedly had been found hanging by her neck from a second floor balcony.

Police said that Rebecca Zahau, 32, was nude and that her hands were bound behind her back and her feet tied.

On Sunday afternoon, Coronado police said they had no information about the boy's death, and the San Diego Sheriff's Department said it had no plans to investigate Max's death because so far, it had only been asked to investigate Zahau's death.

Homicide detectives with the San Diego Sheriff's Department called the scene suspicious and bizarre but said they have not yet determined whether Zahau committed suicide or was murdered.

Late Friday night, deputies stretched crime-scene tape across the front of the historic 27-room mansion on Ocean Boulevard as officers searched the house for the second time in a week.

The Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the death at the request of the small Coronado police force, has sealed all records relating to the case, including search warrants, the initial autopsy reports and other police documents.

Coronado police spokeswoman, Leah Corbin, said there appeared to be no connection between the boy's fall and Zahau's death.

"It just seems to be a tragic accident," she said.

As accounts of the boy's death were broadcast this weekend, small bunches of flowers began accumulating in a water bucket near the sidewalk in front of the mansion.

San Diego station Channel 8 was among media that quoted a message on the social-media website Facebook that was reportedly posted by Gabriele Shacknai, the 14-year-old daughter of Jonah Shacknai.

"RIP Maxie. We'll miss your sweet smile and kind heart more than you'll ever know. I'll love you forever," the posting said, according to the station.

The death rumors continued to fuel talk at restaurants and shops along Coronado's main drag Saturday, as it has dominated conversations throughout the week.

"I guess anything can happen anywhere," said Danielle Goldblatt, a barista at Café 1134. "It doesn't matter who you are or where you are."

Goldblatt and others say that the tragedies are a reminder that death visits everywhere, including this tranquil paradise.

"I live here, I'm from here, A lady was killed here," said Marco Perez, manager of Emerald City Surf Shop. "In a town like this, I don't think (authorities) have a plan for dealing with . . . a murder."